Cruelty or tragedy? Horse at N.J. rodeo dies in front of 2,000 spectators

The death of a bucking horse at a New Jersey rodeo was "so pointless and so cruel," an animal rights group says, while the rodeo's owner calls the incident rare and a "tragic accident."

The four-year-old mare died in the Cowtown Rodeo arena before a crowd of about 2,000 on the weekly rodeo's opening night in Pilesgrove Township Saturday.

"It's incredibly cruel and senseless that these horses are literally being killed for entertainment," said Stuart Chaifetz, New Jersey coordinator for the animal rights group SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness).

SHARK posted a video on Tuesday of the horse on the ground after it had struck the fence and then being carried out of the arena.

The group is opposed to rodeos, claiming they are "just barbaric events."

"It's all about causing pain to animals for fun. There's no way around this. They (the horses) don't want to do this, they are forced to do this," Chaifetz says. "It was so pointless and so cruel."

The mare was part of the saddle bronc riding event Saturday night. The animals are fitted with a saddle and the cowboy contestant must ride the bucking horse for eight seconds to qualify for prize money.

This was the first time the mare had been used in competition, according to Cowtown owner Grant Harris. He said the horse was known by its number Z13 and not had officially been named despite some references to the mare as Night Watch.

The horse had come from a rodeo stock producer in Iowa and was making its debut Saturday night.

Harris, who was on horseback in the arena, said the horse bucked off its rider and then made a lap around the arena. As Z13 came to the southeast corner, Harris said, the horse didn't follow the curve in the fence, but ran head-first into it.

The horse fell to the ground and arena staff ran to its aid. The horse's legs were secured and was lifted onto a metal gate and carried out of the arena by a number of staff. The bucking broncs can weight 1,200 pounds.

According to Harris, a rodeo veterinarian who was on site went behind the chutes to see if he could render aid to the horse, before declaring it dead.

SHARK calls the way the horse was treated after it went down as inhumane and says its video shows the animal did not die instantly.

"We've never seen such rough and disgusting treatment of an injured horse," said Chaifetz.

Harris says the metal, seven-foot high fence which Z13 hit is actually designed to be more visible to the animals in the arena, while giving the public in the stands a good view of the rodeo performance.

Harris said with the older wire fence -- replaced about 25 years ago -- the animals could not clearly see it and often ran into it and twice actually hit with such force that they -- a brahma bull and a bucking horse -- actually went over into the stands.

"When they run into something heard first, all of the energy goes right into the neck," said Harris, the third generation of his family to operate the weekly rodeo now in its 64th year, of the Saturday night incident.

Harris on Tuesday called the death a "tragic accident." He says Cowtown's rodeo stock receives the best care.

"I'll stand by our record anytime on the care and management of our animals," said Harris describing it as "top-shelf."

Aside from their Saturday night appearances in the arena, the rodeo stock spends the rest of its time grazing in the acres around Cowtown in Salem County.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, which sanctions rodeos across the nation Including Cowtown, says surveys from on-site veterinarians shows the rate of injury to animals at rodeos "is very, very low," averaging five one-hundreths of one percent of all animals that are used in performances.

Harris also disputed claims by SHARK that it ships horses off to slaughterhouses. Harris said in the rare cases where those animals which are aged or no longer can perform as bucking broncs are sent to auction by Cowtown.

Cowtown is billed as the oldest weekly rodeo in the United States. Professionally sanctioned, it has contestants who come from across the county to compete.

Cowtown Rodeo posted a message on its website explaining what occurred Saturday night and calling it "an extremely tragic and unfortunate accident. "

This is the second horse in the past several years to die in at the rodeo. A nine-year-old male horse Duke died in June 2013 what was later determined to be an aneurysm of his aorta.

SHARK claimed it was because the horse had been shocked by an electric cattle prod before it was released from its chutes and went into the area. The group posted a video at the time claiming to show that.

The state SPCA investigated the claims and found no wrongdoing by Cowtown.

The rodeo also presents a danger to the contestants.

In May 2016 on opening night a young cowboy, Coy Lutz, 19, of Howard, Pennsylvania, was killed after a horse stepped on him several times after he was bucked off while competing in the bareback bronc riding event.